Critical Careers - Women Building Careers in Digital Infrastructure - Book - Page 18
Critical Careers
E A R LY C A R E E R
How did you 昀椀rst discover digital
infrastructure, and what led you to the
role you’re in today?
My background is in mechanical engineering. I studied in the UK, did
both my Bachelor’s and Master’s here. When you study mechanical
engineering, people always assume you want to work with cars, but that
was never really the direction I wanted to go in.
After I 昀椀nished my Master’s, I was just looking at different options. I came
across an internship at Amazon, and it mentioned data centres. I didn’t
really know what that meant, to be honest. The job description was quite
broad, so I applied more to see what would happen than anything else.
I went through the process and got the offer, which I didn’t expect.
The internship was three months, and at the beginning I found it really
dif昀椀cult. I remember coming home and feeling like I didn’t understand
anything. It wasn’t that people were saying I wasn’t doing well, it was
more how I felt about it.
Since then, I’ve stayed and grown within the role, taking on more
responsibility over time. A big part of that has been stepping into a
position where I’m not just learning myself, but also supporting and
training others.
Irene Castellano
Garrido
DATA CENTRE ENGINEERING OPERATIONS TECH | AWS
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